State Railway of Thailand
History State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is a major railway carrier in Thailand, which was founded as the Royal State Railways of Siam (RSR) in 1890. Construction of the Bangkok-Ayutthaya railway (71 km/44 mi), the first part of the Northern Line, was started in 1891 and completed on May 23, 1892. The Thonburi-Phetchaburi line (150 km/93 mi), later the Southern Line, was opened on June 19, 1903. The Northern Line was originally built as 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge, but in September 1919 it was decided to standardize on 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) meter gauge and the Northern Line was regauged during the next ten years. On July 1, 1951, RSR changed its name to the present State Railway of Thailand. In 2005 SRT had 4,070 km (2,530 mi) of track, all of it meter gauge. Nearly all is single-track, although some important sections around Bangkok are double or triple-tracked and there are plans to extend this. Network The SRT Most operates all of Thailand's national rail lines. Hua Lamphong or Krungthep Station is the main terminus of all routes and start in Bangkok, tiny operate at Thonburi Station; Phahonyothin and ICD Ladkrabang are the main freight terminals. Northern Line Further information: SRT Northern Line route map The Northern Line begins alongside the Northeastern Line up until Ban Phachi Junction. Here, it splits from the Northeastern Line and proceeds through Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Denchai junction, Lampang, Lamphun, before finally reaching Chiang Mai 751 kilometers away from Bangkok. There is also a branch off the mainline from Ban Dara junction to Sawankhalok in Sukhothai Province. *Bang Sue Junction - The largest freight yard in Thailand and hence the main freight terminal. It is also a locomotive depot. *Ayutthaya Station - Northern Bangkok suburban station. High passenger revenue, second only to Bangkok station. *Ban Phachi Junction - A major junction, where the Northern and Northeastern lines separate. *Lop Buri Station - The end of northern Bangkok suburbab service; a military town. *Nakhon Sawan Station - Nong Pling station until 1956. *Phitsanulok Station - Provincial station *Ban Dara Junction - Junction for Sawankhaloke line *Sila At Station - Depot on the Northern Line. Refueling station and up trains will be cut at this station *Denchai Station - the dropping point for Phrae with a proposal for a junction for Denchai - Chiang Rai route *Nakhon Lampang Station - Depot on the Northern Line. Train will be cut further if going North to Chiang Mai. *Chiang Mai Station Northeastern Line Further information: SRT Northeastern Line route map The Northeastern Line begins on the same route as the Northern Line, splitting at Ban Phachi Junction towards Nakhon Ratchasima. Then at Thanon Chira Junction, the line splits with one route passing Khon Kaen and Udon Thani before terminating at Nong Khai 624 kilometers from Bangkok. The other route passes through Buriram, Surin, Si Sa Ket to reach Ubon Ratchathani, 575 kilometers from Bangkok. There is also another branch route originating from Kaeng Khoi Junction in Saraburi Province passing through Lamnarai in Lopburi Province, Chaturat in Chaiyaphum Province, before joining the mainline heading towards Nong Khai at Bua Yai Junction in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. *Saraburi Station - Provincial station, Pak Priaw station until 1934. *Kaeng Khoi Junction - The Bua Yai Line and Khlong Sip Kao line diverge from the mainline here. Main Depot with refueling facility. The point for dividing freight trains into two trains to pass difficult section of Dong Phraya Yen (Kaeng Khoi - Pak Chong) or combining divided freight trains back into one train *Pak Chong Station - The gateway to Nakhon Ratchasima and the point for dividing freight trains into two to pass difficult section of Dong Phraya Yen (Kaeng Khoi - Pak Chong) or combining divided freight trains back into one train *Nakhon Ratchasima Station - Main depot of the Northeastern Line with refueling facility and a branch line to 2nd Army Support Command. *Thanon Chira Junction - Junction for Nong Khai line close to Fort Suranaree (2nd Army Region HQ) *Buri Ram Station - provincial station with a branch line to a quarry at Khao Kradong *Surin Station - provincial station *Si Sa Ket Station - provincial station *Ubon Ratchathani Station in town of Warin - Terminus of South Isaan Line (also known as Ubon Line) with Depot and refueling facility. Varindr station until 1942-1943. *Bua Yai Junction - junction with refueling facility *Khon Kaen Station - provincial station *Udon Thani Station - provincial station with refueling facility. *Nong Khai Station in town of Nong Khai - Terminus of North Isaan Line (also known as Nong Khai Line), provides a connection to Thanaleng Station in Vientiane, Laos. Eastern Line Further information: SRT Eastern Line route map *Makkasan Station - the main depot of SRT (Makkasan Works), and City Air Terminal Station for Suvarnabhumi Airport Express Train (closer to Asok Halt than to Makkasan station) *Hua Mak Station - Bangkok suburban station *Hua Ta Khe Station - Junction for ICD. *Chachoengsao Junction - Junction for Laem Chabang (double track opened January 2012) and Aranyaprathet Line. *Aranyaprathet Station - Terminus of North Eastern Line. *Si Racha Junction - Junction for Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port. *Map Taphut Station - Terminus of East Coast Line - freight trains only. Southern Line Further information: SRT Southern Line route map The Southern Line begins in Bangkok and heads west towards Nakhon Pathom before splitting into 3 different routes. One route heads west towards Kanchanaburi Province (km 210) while another heads north towards Suphan Buri (km 157). The Southern Line itself continues southbound through Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Chumphon, to Surat Thani 678 kilometers away. From Surat Thani, there is a westerly branch towards Khiri Ratnikhom while the main line continues south to Thung Song Junction in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province where another branch reaches Kantang in Trang Province. The main line from Nakhon Sri Thammarat continues through Phatthalung before reaching Hatyai Junction in Songkhla Province. From here, the line branches to connect with the Malaysian railway at Padang Besar and Sungai Golok passing through Yala Province in the process. *Bang Sue Junction - Main junction and freight terminal with main Diesel Locomotive Depot and Refueling facility *Thon Buri Station - Former terminus of Southern Line. *Nakhon Pathom Station - main southern suburban station *Nong Pladuk Junction - Junction for Namtok Branch Line and Suphanburi Branch Line *Ban Pong Station - Interchange to Kanchanaburi for those who did not travel along Nam Tok branch line *Rajburi Station - Terminal for southern suburban service, also Provincial station *Phetburi Station - Provincial Station *Hua Hin Station - station with beautiful architecture, crew changing station *Chumphon Station - Provincial station, locomotive depot with refueling facility *Ban Thung Pho Junction - Southern Container Yard and Khiri Ratthanikhom Branch. *Surat Thani Station - crew changing station and provincial station *Thung Song Junction - Locomotive Depot, refueling facility and junction for Kantang Branch. *Trang Station - Provincial Station *Kantang Station - Terminus of Kantang Branch. *Khao Chumthong Junction - Junction for Nakhon Si Thammarat Branch. *Nakhon Si Thammarat Station - Terminus of Nakhon Si Thammarat Branch. *Patthalung Station - Provincial station, crew changing station *Hat Yai Junction - Main junction in Southern Line, Locomotive Depot and refueling facility *Padang Besar Station - International KTM station in Malaysia. *Pattani Station - former Khok Pho station *Yala Station - Provincial station, crew changingw station *Tanyong Mas station - for Ra Nga district and Narathiwat *Sungai Kolok Station - Terminus of Southern Line. Used to be an international station until the termination of cross border services. Namtok Branch Further information: SRT Namtok Branch map *Thon Buri Station - Terminus of Western Line *Taling Chan Junction - Junction for Bangsue - Taling Chan link (also known as Rama 6 Line), the connection between south and north SRT systems opened with the building of the only rail bridge across the Chao Phraya River in 1925. *Salaya Station - Bangkok suburban station close to Mahidol University (Salaya Campus) *Nakhon Pathom Station - Provincial station *Nong Pla Duk Junction - Junction for Suphanburi and Kanchanaburi. *Suphanburi Station - A 2 to 4 car DMU operates to Bangkok in the early morning and from Bangkok in the evening. *Kanchanaburi Station - Provincial station *Nam Tok Station - Terminus of Western Line. External links *Official the State Railway of Thailand website Thai language *Official the State Railway of Thailand website English language *Official the State Railway of Thailand Facebook Page Thai language *The Official Online Ticketing from the State Railway of Thailand Thai language *The Official Online Ticketing from the State Railway of Thailand English language References *Wikipedia.org *Various encyclopedias Gallery DSC00444.jpg|Bogie Third Class & Van (BTV.) Number 41 CameraZOOM-20120706073426426.jpg|3rd class Bogie Third Class Carriage (BTC.) 459 it non AC 2011-09-09 13.24.06.jpg|Bogie Second Class Day&Night Coach(BNS.) note.new Livery 2011-09-09 15.32.36.jpg|BTC 472 coach with new Livery 2011-09-09 15.31.06.jpg|Left Ex JR Bluetrain Mid BTC 227 with old livery Right New Livery non-ac BST (Second & Third Class Carriage) Category:Companies Category:Asian Railways